can someone tell me about live fish food?

[goodogcarl]

the last time i had an aquarium (30 years ago) i lived in los angeles and every lfs had live food. now i live in kansas city and lfs owners look at me as if i've grown a second head when i ask about live food.

my dogs and cats are on raw food and i think i'd like for my fish to be as well.

is it possible to buy mail order live food?

will live food "keep" for a length of time?

what are the pros/cons?

any help would be appreciated.

[meegosh]

A few LFS around here still have feeder tanks but they are dropping like flies. Lately people have been staying away from the feeder goldfish/guppies because they are disease prone and can infect the fish that eats them.

There are a few options, you could breed your own food. Guppies are quite prolific and drop fry like clockwork (every ~30 days). Frozen foods (bloodworms, etc) might be an option you could look into, while they are not live they are raw, so to speak.

It would also help to know what kind of fish you are feeding. Guppies may be too large for your fish to eat. It really depends on the diet of the fish you keep.

[blert]

I think the main issues with live foods is the possibility of introducing disease and/or parasites into an otherwise healthy aquarium. Then there is the problem of long term storage.

The best option might be to feed live as treats once a week or so. Just buy enough for the one feeding from a reputable and clean shop.

Frozen is a good alternative to live for feeding on a more regular basis, but I would still mix it up with flakes and pellets and whatnot for a little variety.

[goodogcarl]

sorry again.

[goodogcarl]

i'm currently feeding only tetracolor tropical crisps

i have

1 red-tailed shark (who is growing 5 x as fast as any of my other fish)
2 rainbow sharks
4 gouramis
4 tetras
4 mollies
2 swordtails
3 rainbow bosemanii (sp?)
3 rainbow praecox

a few snails